A shop in The Broadway, Loughton had rubbish dumped in it’s trade bin which was traced back to a resident living in Willingale Close.

Investigations by Epping Forest District Council led to the prosecution of Mr Christian Akinrinade. The waste included a number of cardboard boxes and a leather bag which were identified as having originated from Mr Akinrinade’s property in Willingale Close Loughton.

Mr Akinrinade pleaded guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court to transferring household waste to an unauthorised person. He told the Council he had given the waste to builders working at a property in his road and had paid them approximately £30 to do so.

He was fined £1153 and ordered to pay the Council’s prosecution costs of £627.82 together with a victim surcharge of £115.

Fly tipping prosecution

“We take fly tipping, and residents’ responsibility to ensure they are disposing of their waste legitimately and responsibly very seriously and will not hesitate to prosecute,” said Cllr Nigel Avey, Portfolio Holder for Environment.

“Our message is simple: Before handing your waste to somebody else, always check, consider and record in order to protect yourself, and reduce fly-tipping by rogue traders. It is a crime not to care.”

Advice on how residents can protect themselves from rogue traders who fly-tip for profit is available on the Council’s Website. Click here for more information Crime Not to Care. A series of short films produced by the Cleaner Essex Group (a campaign group made up from representatives from local authorities across Essex), are also available to view on this web page.

Reports to Council on 1 November 2018 included updates on the newly completed Leisure Centre in Waltham Abbey, an Essex-wide fly-tipping campaign, additional Council homes built and an announcement about free weekend parking in Council run car parks in December.

Crime not to Care

The Council has been promoting the Essex-wide fly-tipping campaign, ‘Crime not to Care’.

Designed to educate residents about their duty of care when disposing of their waste, the campaign informs residents that they can be fined and prosecuted if their waste is fly-tipped by rogue traders.

In his report, Councillor Nigel Avey, Environment Portfolio Holder, informed members of the Councils most recent prosecution. The case of Loughton resident, Mr Tjoluskins, was heard by Magistrates on 13 September. He handed his waste to a scammer who fly-tipped in a bin store in Oakley Court in Loughton. The resident was fined £600 and ordered to pay the Councils prosecution costs of £900.

The campaigns message is simple – before handing over your waste to somebody else, always check, consider and record to protect yourself and reduce fly-tipping by rogue traders.

Universal Credit

In his report to members, Councillor Mohindra, Finance Portfolio Holder, presented an update about Universal Credit.

From 5 December, the Job Centre Plus in Loughton will roll out Universal Credit. Meaning that anyone of working age that needs help with their rent and is not already receiving Housing Benefit, will need to apply for Universal Credit instead of Housing Benefit.

Council house-building programme

Councillor Syd Stavrou’s report informed members of the handover of four new Council homes in Coopersale, Epping on Wednesday 10 October. The two new 2 bedroom houses and two 1 bedroom flats will be let to applicants on the Councils housing register. A further seven new Council homes will be ready to handover in early November.

The Council has committed around £58 million for new housing since it restarted its council house building programme in 2014. So far, new homes have been built in Waltham Abbey, North Weald and Epping, with more in the pipeline.

Free parking in December

Councillor Sam Kane announced the Councils plan to relax parking fees in Council owned car parks on weekends throughout December 2018 ‘to help local traders’ and support our high streets this Christmas.

Parking will be free on Saturdays and Sundays throughout December in all of the Council owned car parks.

Epping Forest Recycling Rewards focuses on blocks of flats in the district where contamination in recycling has been high. The scheme helps to incentivise residents to sort their recycling and cut down on contamination.

Around 100 blocks have been taking part with almost a third of residents earning ‘Green Points’. Each month the six residents who’ve collected the most points receive a £25 voucher to spend at M&S, iTunes, Love2shop, and Local leisure centres or to donate to one of the charities supported by the scheme.

Between July 2017 and July 2018 contamination rates across the blocks taking part dropped dramatically over the life of the project.

‘’We knew recycling rates in flats were below where they should be so this scheme is a wonderful opportunity for residents involved, to improve their recycling rates and get rewarded for doing so,’’ said Cllr Nigel Avey, portfolio holder for the environment.

“We monitor the quality of recycling being produced by flats in Epping Forest and reward residents for recycling more of the right things. The blocks earn ‘Green Points’ depending on how they are performing and can also earn extra points for things like reporting fly-tipping and using recycling centres for household waste.”

Local businesses have signed up to the scheme to offer discounts to participating residents.

We spend £190,000 on clearing up fly tipping across our district…money that could be spent on other services. But did you realise that it’s not just the fly tippers that are liable to prosecution? We are all personally responsible for our waste and how it is disposed of.

Black sacks left outside the designated areas for refuse collection can constitute fly tipping as much as sofas, fridges, builders’ rubble etc, which we trust to a third party to dispose of.

Duty of care

As residents we have a duty of care to ensure our waste is disposed of responsibly and doesn’t find its way into the hands of rogue traders.

Just last month a Loughton man had to pay £1,500 in fines and costs because the person he asked to dispose of some cardboard fly tipped it. Our enforcement team traced it back to the man and he was prosecuted.

Check list

Here are a few simple checks to make before you enter into an agreement with someone to dispose of your waste:

Check where your waste is going. A legitimate waste carrier should not object to you asking these questions.

Make a note of who you have given your waste to, their waste carrier details and vehicle details.

You should never leave any waste such as an old washing machine or scrap metal on your drive or in the street for someone to remove. They may not be a registered waste carrier, and could take the bits they need and dump the rest.

You can donate good quality items to your local reuse organisation or charity shop , or give items to someone who could make use of them.

Further information

To find out more watch our Crime Not to Care film and please share the message to ensure your friends and family know how to protect themselves, and help us reduce fly-tipping.

A Loughton resident incurred fines of more than £1,500 for not checking he was giving his waste to a reputable company.

Mr Vadims Tjoluskins of Hillyfields pleaded guilty at Chelmsford Magistrates Court last month to failing in his household waste duty of care, by giving his waste to somebody else to dispose of without carrying out the necessary checks to ensure that they were authorised by the Environment Agency to carry such waste.

Mr Tjoluskins admitted he handed over some large cardboard boxes which were later found fly tipped amongst a larger pile of waste in Oakley Court, Loughton at a bin store provided for local residents.

Magistrates fined Mr Tjoluskins £600 and ordered him to pay the Council’s prosecution costs of £900, together with a victim surcharge £60 and said that had he not pleaded guilty the fine would have been £900.

Fly tipping prosecution

“We take fly tipping, and residents’ responsibility to ensure they are disposing of their waste legitimately and responsibly very seriously,” said Cllr Nigel Avey, Portfolio Holder for Environment.

“Our message is simple: Before handing your waste to somebody else, always check, consider and record in order to protect yourself, and reduce fly-tipping by rogue traders. It is a crime not to care.”

Further information

Advice on how residents can protect themselves from rogue traders who fly-tip for profit is available on the Council’s Website. Click here for more information Crime Not to Care.

The Burton Road fire, proposals for the St Johns Road development, the Epping Forest Shopping Park and the Epping Forest District Local Plan submission were amongst the topics of discussion at Full Council on 25 September 2018.

Burton Road fire

Council Leader, Councillor Chris Whitbread set the record straight in response to questions asked by Councillor Steven Neville relating to the fire at Burton Road on 17 August 2018.

Councillor Whitbread said: “Having read the comparisons with the Grenfell disaster on the front page of the local paper recently, we are concerned that sensational headlines will cause a great deal of unnecessary anxiety for potential tenants. Links with the Grenfell Tower do a disservice to the people involved in that disaster as well as families currently waiting for a new home on our waiting list.

He urged: “Burton Road is a completely different building and it is not yet finished. The fire was caused by a construction related accident, not the materials used. Unlike Grenfell, Burton Road only has four floors. The interior was practically untouched by the fire. Even if it had been possible for such a fire to start once the building was finished and occupied, all the evidence suggests people would have been able to escape unharmed. The building stood up remarkably well to the blaze.”

St Johns Road proposals

Options for a new leisure centre at the St Johns Road development site in Epping are being explored. Proposals are being discussed with the District Council’s current leisure provider Places for People and Epping Town Council.

The new leisure centre could form part of the larger St Johns development and could potentially include the first cinema in the town for decades, new shops, public open space and housing.

Local Plan progress

Planning Portfolio Holder, Councillor John Philip announced that Epping Forest District Council’s Local Plan, a set of policies to manage development within the district up to 2033, has been submitted for approval to the Planning Inspectorate.

The Local Plan’s submission was delayed following a Judicial Review brought by CK Properties in March 2018.

New leisure hub for Waltham Abbey

Council was given an update on the new leisure centre in Waltham Abbey by Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Communities, Councillor Helen Kane. She informed Council that the new health and wellbeing hub is now in the final stages of construction and is on target to achieve its scheduled opening on 17 November 2018.

It’s a ‘Crime Not To Care’

In a bid to combat fly-tipping and increase awareness throughout the district, the Cleaner Essex Group will be ‘recycling’ the Crime not to Care campaign this year to highlight issues caused by fly tipping and how residents can help.

The campaign, due to launch in October, will ask residents and businesses to ‘Check, Challenge and Record’ when handing their waste over for disposal – ensuring waste is kept out of the hands of the rogue traders that fly-tip for profit.

New brands at Shopping Park

Home Bargains and Boots Plc are the last two brands to join the group retailers at the Epping Forest Shopping Park in Loughton.

Home Bargains opened its doors on 1 September 2018 and the lease on the final retail unit has now been agreed with Boots Plc, with completion imminent pending approval of the shop fit out.

Funding granted for inclusion project

Councillors noted a report which referred to the grant of extra funding from Action for Children, for the Epping Forest Inclusion Project. The project provides an important resource, offering a wide range of sport and leisure activities for children and young people with disabilities and their families.

Updated Information – 13.15pm on 17 August 2018

Essex Fire and Rescue Service have announced that the fire is now out.

We cannot speculate on the cause of the fire at the moment, that will come out following an official investigation.

The photo below shows the building now that the fire is out and demonstrates how remarkably well the structure has stood up to the fire.

Council Leader, Chris Whitbread said: “You can always rebuild bricks and mortar, the important thing is that everyone appears to be safe and the fire is now out.”

Original statement made – 12:00pm 17 August 2018

A development of new flats in Burton Road, Loughton has caught fire and the fire service are in attendance.

This is a development of new council housing being built for Epping Forest District Council. A £10 million design and build mixed tenure residential development of 51 affordable rent units, comprising of 17 homes and 34 apartments.

Councillor Chris Whitbread Leader of Epping Forest District Council is at Burton Road.

He said: “Our first concern is for the safety and welfare of all concerned. It looks like everyone is safe. Essex Fire and Rescue is on the scene and it is under control. These flats are still being built. This is a construction site and there are no tenants living here. However we are obviously concerned about everyone working on the site at the time the fire started.

“The development is being built for us by Mulalley – a large construction company with a long and successful track record of building major projects. It is too early to say what caused the fire but it is clearly large. Essex Fire and Rescue has cordoned the site off.

“Our first priority is to ensure people are safe. Neighbouring residents are being asked to stay in their homes. This is bound to cause some travel disruption and people are being asked to avoid the area if they can.

“The council has several roles: we are the client and this is a serious setback for us and all those people we are building these new homes for. More importantly in the short term we have a supporting role to the emergency services and would be in a position to set up rest centres nearby if required for neighbouring residents. At this stage our staff are on standby if rest centres are needed. We also employ specialist building control officers who will be at the disposal of Essex Fire and Rescue to assess the damage and ensure the buildings are made safe once the fire is out.

“In the longer term we will recover. Bricks and mortar can always be replaced and we will rebuild these much needed homes for local people. For now, our thoughts are focused on the safety of everyone living and working in the area.

Better for the environment

Each child will use an average of 5,000 disposable nappies … or 24 cloth nappies! Disposable nappies cannot be recycled and can take hundreds of years to break down.

Even when you consider laundering, cloth nappies can be up to 40% better for the environment than disposables. You can reduce your water and electricity usage by not soaking or pre-washing nappies and by washing in a full load at 40 or 60 degrees.

Easy to use

Modern cloth nappies do not require complicated folding and fiddly safety pins. There are many varieties to choose from, many are shaped and fasten with poppers, grips or use Velcro. Modern washing machines can make quick work of cleaning them.

This blooming good giveaway is on Tuesday 8 May at North Weald Airfield from 10am to 2pm. Residents must bring their own bags and a spade before helping themselves to up to 3 bags of compost while stocks last.

When – Tuesday 8 May 2018 10am to 2pm

Where – North Weald Airfield, Merlin Way, North Weald CM16 6AA (the entrance is via the A414 on Merlin Way, follow the brown tourist signs for North Weald Market)

Why – Free compost! Grab up to 3 bags of compost while stocks last, remember to bring your own bags and a spade

The compost was made from last years green-lidded food & garden waste wheelie bin collections. It is part of a series of events across Essex celebrating International Compost Awareness Week (6-12 May 2018).

Composting advice

Whether you’re a keen gardener or just getting started, come along and get free compost & composting advice. Expert composters will offer advice on how to make an excellent natural soil improver which can be used to dress lawns, pot up plants, revitalise flowerbeds, or mulched as a plant feed for vegetable patches.

Composting is an excellent way to help your garden grow. It is also one of the most environmentally friendly ways to dispose of waste.

Mr Salinder Minhas and Mrs Parminder Minhas of 3 Alderton Close Loughton Essex were successfully prosecuted by Epping Forest District Council in April 2018 for failing to comply with Notices served on them under Section 215 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 requiring them to clear rubbish from the front and rear of their property.

Failure to remove building materials

At Chelmsford Magistrates Court on 5th April 2018 Mr. & Mrs Minhas each pleaded guilty to the offence of failing to comply with the Notice served on them on 23rd November 2017.

The notice required them to remove building materials, paint pots, plastic items and cardboard from their front and rear gardens and from the flat roof of the garage which were adversely affecting the visual amenity of the area. They should have complied by 21st December 2017.

Over £800 in fines

The Magistrates fined Mr Minhas £110 and ordered him to pay £308 towards the Council’s prosecution costs together with the statutory victim surcharge of £30.

Mrs Minhas was fined £100 and ordered to pay costs of £308 and a Victim Surcharge of £30. The fines had been reduced by one third due to Mr & Mrs Minhas pleading guilty at the first hearing and also taking into account their current financial situation.

Given every opportunity to clear the land

Having seen the photographs taken by the Council the Magistrate told Mr & Mrs Minhas that he was not surprised that neighbours had complained about the state of the property and the Council had quite rightly brought the prosecution having given them every opportunity to clear the land.

Mr & Mrs Minhas informed the court that they would now fully comply with the Notice.

Failure to do so renders them liable to a further prosecution with a possible fine of up to £100 for every day that they do not comply from 5th April 2018.

Report it

If you suspect any planning breaches get in contact with our team via email